


In All Duty and Service

by starrybouquet



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fake Marriage, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-13 04:02:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29770374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrybouquet/pseuds/starrybouquet
Summary: Daniel’s eyes darted from Jack to Carter, sitting on Jack’s other side, then back. “Yeah. Um. They were a bit scandalized by...um...you and Sam.”
Relationships: Samantha "Sam" Carter/Jack O'Neill
Comments: 31
Kudos: 109
Collections: Stargate Winter Fic Exchange 2020-21





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [writingherhope](https://archiveofourown.org/users/writingherhope/gifts).



> As always, my thanks go to Caro_the_Poet for being a great beta and general idea-bouncer-off-er. And for giving me the title, because I am horrific at titling things. :)
> 
> writingherhope, I hope you love this one. More to come soon! <3

P4X-297 wasn’t so bad, Jack thought as he finished his dinner. The planet’s Stargate and, by extension, the capital city were situated on craggy cliffs overlooking an ocean. A cool fog blanketed the town in the morning, but as the sun rose, the fog cleared to reveal sparkling waters, grass-topped sandstone cliffs, and views that rivaled anything you’d find on Earth. 

Equally importantly, ‘297’s people had been taken from Earth after the crucial development of running water, meaning that SG-1’s current lodgings were pretty comparable to a high-end 1940s hotel. Including the indoor plumbing.

The food was pretty standard fare, mostly consisting of a fish that tasted very much like salmon, various greens, and sweet red berries. Over the years, however, Jack had learned to be grateful for simple dishes, and wary of fancier ones. Simple food usually meant they didn’t have to pretend to eat alien food, then sneak ration bars for actual sustenance.

Best of all, however, unmined veins of trinium ran throughout the ground, and the ‘297ers (Jack had given up pronouncing their name the first time he’d heard it) were willing to trade.

Jack’s enjoyment of the last few bites of his dinner was interrupted by the sound of heated argument across the large hotel dining hall. He looked up to see Daniel deep in discussion with some of the local leaders.

He couldn’t understand the discussion, but he cringed inwardly as he saw Daniel stand straighter and blink. 

It was the Daniel-is-alarmed blink, and it usually meant that they were going to have to either participate in some terrifying ceremonial trial without clothes or hightail it back to the Stargate. 

Jack slumped. And things had been going so well, too.

“Sir?” To his left, Carter nudged him with an elbow in an unspoken question. _Are you all right?_

He jerked his head toward Daniel. “Something’s going on.”

She sighed, and Jack knew she’d read the same expression he had. “Well, I guess Daniel will tell us when he’s finished.”

“Yeah. I want to be ready to make a quick getaway.”

“Isn’t that a little premature, sir? I mean, maybe they’re just negotiating.” But the sound of her voice said that she didn’t really believe it.

“Maybe, maybe not,” Jack replied. Though the ‘297ers hadn’t been at all aggressive up till now, he checked the positions of his team anyway. _You can take a man out of spec ops, but you can’t take the spec ops out of the man._

_Not to mention being ready has saved our asses more than once._

_Carter, check._ Jack glanced at her blond head. _Daniel, can’t miss him_. The diplomat of their team was still over speaking with the local headwoman-lady (Jack couldn’t remember her title). _Teal’c, right corner_. The last member of SG-1 had been pulled aside by a uniformed man who looked like a military general sort, and now stood a good bit away from the cluster of tables in the center of the room, apparently demonstrating a variety of staff weapon moves sans staff weapon.

After a few more minutes of discussion, now in lowered voices, Daniel moved toward Jack and Carter, sitting down to Jack’s right. "There's been a slight problem.”

“I hadn’t noticed,” Jack commented sarcastically.

Daniel’s eyes darted from Jack to Carter, sitting on Jack’s other side, then back. “Yeah. Um. They were a bit scandalized by...um...you and Sam.”

At the sound of her name, Carter leaned around him, and Jack fought not to squirm as her hip pressed against his. “Scandalized? Please tell me they don’t think Carter shouldn't be here, because so help me God, I will--”

“No, no,” Daniel said hurriedly. “Nothing like that. They just, uh, have very strict customs about certain...behaviors that, um, mean that two people are married. And they think that you two are, um, flouting those customs.”

Carter frowned. “What kind of customs?” she demanded.

It was amazing how Carter seemed to scare Daniel more than Jack himself these days. “I, um, think it had something to do with you adjusting his pack yesterday, when we inspected the mines? And when he slid down those rocks, you cleaned up his scrapes. And then tonight, um, apparently Jack ate the...red things...off your plate, and that was sort of the last straw. In their eyes.”

“Daniel,” Jack drawled, very slowly, “did you explain to them that our _customs_ are different from theirs?”

“Well, yes, I tried. But actually, um, those customs I mentioned are laws.” Daniel gestured with his hands futilely. “And we did say we were willing to abide by their laws, and, well, like I said, they think you two are flouting it. They know you two aren’t married, so they think you’re trying to intentionally break the rules.”

“We aren’t!” Jack snapped. _If I was married to Carter, I would be doing..._ other _things._

“I know that, but they aren’t convinced.” Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose. “They’re about to break off the treaty agreement.” He paused, clearly hesitant to say whatever came next.

Jack sighed, and inwardly cursed. “What do they want us to do,” he asked resignedly.

Daniel swallowed. “They want to make an example of you, so to speak. And, um, so…”

“ _Daniel_ ,” Carter and Jack chorused frustratedly.

“Okay, okay. They want to marry the two of you.”

Jack blinked. “ _What?_ ” he said, followed immediately by Carter’s protest. “Daniel--”

“Look, it's the only way to get the trinium. And you know the Pentagon has been on Hammond to bring in more resources. We can't back out now. I've already arranged it with their leaders.”

“Daniel!” Jack glared balefully at the archaeologist.

“Jack?” 

Oh, that innocent look was _so_ fake. Daniel knew exactly what was wrong with that plan. “Daniel!”

“Jack! It's the only way! And I for one do not enjoy the idea of being imprisoned for breaking the treaty or whatever!” Daniel glared back at him.

Damn it, Daniel was so _sensitive_ and _touchy-feely_ when all Jack wanted to do was watch a hockey game. Why couldn’t he be more _sensitive_ and _touchy-feely_ now?

But clearly he was a lost cause, so Jack appealed to the more level-headed scientist of his team. “Carter, tell him this is a bad idea.”

Carter sighed, and glanced at Daniel. “We won’t get the trinium without this, right?”

“No, I got the feeling the trinium would be the least of our problems.”

Though her cheeks reddened, her voice was steady when she turned back to Jack. “Sir, I don’t think we have much of a choice.”

“Can’t we give them something instead?”

“They think we’re breaking the law, Jack. Intentionally.” Daniel looked at him, eyes wide behind his glasses, as if imploring him to recognize the gravity of the situation.

Jack got it. He just didn’t like the plan.

“Does anyone listen to me anymore?” he asked tiredly. “Damn it, Daniel. I'm gonna take a walk. You go over the plan with Carter. And catch up Teal’c.”

“Jack, you really need to be here for this--”

Ignoring Daniel, Jack hopped over the bench, and strode out of the high-ceilinged dining hall back to their rooms.

If this was the only way out of here without getting shot at and with the trinium, he was going to need some time alone.

Married to Carter. Some stupid part of his brain perked up at the thought, and he immediately squashed it. This was the only way out of this particular situation. That was all.

It wasn’t as bad as some of the other things he’d done in the line of duty. Far from it, in fact. But still, Jack didn’t want to think about how he’d feel once he was back on his couch, beer in hand, watching hockey. Alone.

Jack had been falling for years, and recently, it felt as if something had to give. He knew that moving on from Carter was impossible, but he had to let go. He had to kill this _thing_ before it killed both of them--God knows it had come close, more times than he cared to count.

And pretending to marry Carter, even if it was for some stupid trade agreement and a promise that SG-1 would get back home intact?

The only thing that was going to kill was his self-respect. And any last chance he’d had of letting go.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks as always to Caro fo the lightning fast read-through and comments! :)

By the time Jack arrived back at their lodgings, it was night, and the bustle of the state dinner had given way to quiet, the occasional noise of a bellhop’s cart or clerk’s tapping pen muffled by the ornate carpet and elegant furniture of the “lobby” area of the hotel.

Jack headed for the staircase on the far right of the room, figuring that the rest of his team had already headed to bed and sure there would be an early wake-up call for whatever diplomatic thing was scheduled for tomorrow.

He was surprised, then, when he spotted Carter curled up on the couch at the base of the staircase. When she noticed him, she straightened up, crossing her legs in what was decidedly an uncomfortable-Carter pose. “Sir.”

“Carter.” Jack came to a stop in front of her.

“I, um--” Her eyes darted down, and then back to his face. “I thought we should talk about this before tomorrow. Daniel gave me the details.”

Jack resisted the urge to brush her off and spend the night in blissful ignorance. “Okay,” he said, sitting on the other end of the couch. He motioned to Carter to continue.

She took a deep breath. “Teal’c and Daniel spoke to Hammond via MALP, and he’s on board. The ceremony is going to be tomorrow evening, and they’re making it a part of the treaty. It’ll be in the plaza outside, since they’re making an example of us.” As she spoke, Carter’s speech grew faster, until she was speaking as fast as humanly possible, Jack was sure. Another nervous-Carter tic. “You’re in normal negotiations in the morning, and then Daniel will take you to get ready. Apparently, it’s pretty close to an Earth ceremony, sort of, but anyway, there’s nothing too objectionable--”

“Hold on.” Jack held up a hand to stem the flow of words. “I think I got it, but some of us don’t have quite as big brains as you, Carter, and if you keep talking, I’m gonna forget.” He gestured frustratedly with both hands, and drew the smile he’d been angling for, albeit a still-anxious one. 

“So...Hammond’s okay with it, negotiations and then prep. Got it,” he summarized, and then raised an eyebrow. “You said I was in negotiations. What will you be doing?”

Carter masked a wince. “I have, um, preparations all morning. I’m sorry, sir, Daniel said I couldn’t get out of them.”

“Not your fault, Carter.” Jack tried hard not to dwell on what _preparations_ for Carter might entail. He noticed that both of them had successfully avoided the word “wedding” thus far. Maybe, if they continued to avoid that word until they were both safely back through the Stargate, he could get through this.

He belatedly realized Carter was speaking. “I know this isn’t really regulation--”

“Wait.” Jack suddenly had a sinking feeling that Carter had totally misread his reaction. “What?”

She blinked. “I just wanted to apologize. Since I know you really didn’t want to deal with this, and--” 

“When did I say I didn't want to deal with this?” he interrupted.

She raised an eyebrow. “With Daniel? Your reaction wasn't exactly…”

“I was annoyed at _Daniel_ , Carter, because he was being...Daniel. I--this is fine,” he bit out. Mentally, Jack kicked himself for being so short with her, because he knew she was trying to give him an out. Why did he never say the right thing at the right time?

“Oh. Okay.” Carter looked at her hands.

“I mean, unless you’re uncomfortable,” he added awkwardly. “That's why I made Daniel clear everything with you first--”

She looked up, startled, and their gazes collided. Not a full-on collision, though, more of a scrape-the-side-of-your-car accident. “No, sir, this--I--like you said, it's fine.”

Damn it, why was it always like this with them now? Once upon a time, it had been nice and fun and it had just _worked_ without the awkwardness and wondering and half-sentences. When had it changed?

Oh yeah. When he’d stared at her through a force field and realized that what he thought was just a crush was way, way more than that. When he’d realized he wanted to say things like _I love you_ and _I know I’m not good enough for you but please don’t leave_ and _marry me_.

That last one brought him back to reality with a jolt. Not exactly what he’d had in mind, but at least Carter seemed okay with it.

_Yeah, because the alternative is going to prison._

“You sure?” he asked anyway, wanting to check one more time.

Carter nodded once, sharply. “Positive.”

“Okay.”

“Good.”

“Yeah, um, fine. Good.” He clapped once and stood, and heard Carter let out something halfway between a giggle and a snort.

“What?” he said defensively.

“Nothing.” By the amused expression she couldn’t quite curtail, Jack knew it wasn’t nothing.

“Carter, I beg of you, please tell me the humor in this situation,” he said. 

“Sir, come on. We have to pretend to get married. It's comedy gold.”

“Doesn't seem very funny to me,” he retorted, and then kicked himself again. 

It was good that she could laugh about it. It wasn’t her fault that he couldn’t.

But Carter was more perceptive than he gave her credit for. “That's because it's you. And me.” She looked up at him, expression serious again, and Jack felt a wave of warmth at the understanding in her eyes.

“Yeah,” he said, voice still gruff.

She stood, and took a step toward him. “Let's just...go with it. It's only for a few days, and this really is the only way we'll get that trinium.”

Jack swallowed. “You want to go with it,” he repeated, and found himself using his classic “confused” expression to mask the huge churning pit that used to be his stomach.

“Yes, sir.”

He raised an eyebrow, and it was like the za’tarc testing and that room all over again. “You sure?”

“Yes,” Carter said again, and he knew she was deliberately leaving off the “sir”.

He nodded once, then again when he couldn’t quite convince himself. “Um. Well, then, goodnight, Carter.”

“‘Night, sir.” She smiled at him, still with that understanding that made Jack feel more seen than he’d ever felt with anyone else, and he knew that they’d make it through this.

It was that thought that he carried back up to his room and into bed.


End file.
